The most important gardening technique for beginners to learn is how to keep a garden healthy. A garden that is healthy enables the plants to produce more food and resist disease and pests better.
Observing the plants regularly is key. Curiosity helps to identify problems like drooping leaves, and prevents them from becoming serious issues.
Proper Planting
Each plant has specific requirements for sunlight, water and nutrients. Beginners should choose plants that are hardy in their climate and grow well in their region.
Before planting, get rid of weeds and sod. Also, make sure the garden has easy access to a water source. The soil should be well-draining and rich in phosphorous and potassium. Watering on a regular schedule encourages root growth.
Watering
Plants lose moisture through their leaves and need to be watered to keep them hydrated. Watering regularly is important to a garden’s health, especially during hot weather.
Vegetable plants need six hours of sunlight a day to grow. Beginners should pay attention to sun exposure when choosing their vegetable planting locations. Misjudging sunlight is a common mistake that can cause a garden to fail.
Pruning
Pruning is a necessary skill for growing plants that are healthy and aesthetically pleasing. It involves making careful pruning cuts that promote a desired plant structure and avoiding damage to the plant.
Training cuts can be made to shape shrubs, control their height, and encourage the development of flowers or fruit. For woody plants, pruning is best done when they are dormant in winter or early spring.
Mulching
Mulch has long been a gardener’s friend. It locks in moisture, reduces weeds and feeds the soil.
Figure out the average frost dates for your area to avoid starting frost-sensitive plants too early.
Learn the basics of a soil test through your county cooperative extension office. This will help you identify what nutrients your soil is lacking and how to improve it.
Composting
The garden is a grand teacher; it teaches patience, careful watchfulness, industry and thrift, and above all, whole trust. It also teaches appreciation for the many wonders of life around you.
Composting has a wide range of environmental, economic, and social benefits for gardens big and small. It also helps reduce food waste. It increases soil nutrients and improves its ability to retain water.
Fertilizer Application
Keeping up with gardening chores is the best thing you can do for your garden. Watering before plants wilt, pulling weeds, and pruning shrubs keep the garden looking tidy and help them thrive.
Conventional fertilizers can damage your plants and soil if over-applied, and excess amounts of nitrogen can enter streams and create sources of nonpoint pollution. Applying fertilizer in accordance with the recommendations on the label can prevent this from happening.
Pest Control
In gardens, pests include insects and their relatives, mollusks, vertebrates (like birds and snakes) and other organisms. Monitoring pest populations and the damage they cause requires regular scouting and trapping.
It’s also important to learn how to deter garden pests. For example, deterring deer from a flower garden can be done by growing plants they’re not attracted to, like marigolds. This is called companion planting.
Weed Control
As a beginner gardener, it is best to start small and learn as you go. Labeling plants and keeping records can help beginners identify problems early, such as a lack of water or the appearance of a disease.
Mulching helps to control weeds by smothering them, and using organic mulches such as compost, hay or straw help prevent weed seeds from germinating. Adding organic matter to the soil also improves its quality.
Plant Rotation
This standard agricultural practice is an excellent way to ensure a bountiful harvest. By switching where you grow vegetable families from year to year, you prevent plant diseases and pests from recurring and reduce the amount of chemicals you need to use.
Using crop rotation is as simple as planting different vegetable groups in different raised beds each season. You can also add cover crops to the rotation, which will improve soil health.
Soil Testing
Soil testing provides information about the level of nutrients in a garden’s soil. The information helps the gardener decide how to amend the soil.
Begining gardeners should sample the soil for W/V, organic matter, PH, and CEC (cation exchange capacity) at least once. Most county cooperative extension offices will lead the gardener through the process. It is also possible to purchase a home-based testing kit.